The train is dashing through tunnels, gliding over bridges. But I sit there feeling homesick. The initial excitement of coming to Europe has now left an emptiness in my stomach. It is not that I am hungry. I simply miss theugali and sukuma wiki.
I miss the hustle and bustle of Korogocho. The nostalgic smell of the dark dirty soil. The tantalizing smell of nyama choma. The concealed fragrance of Omo from the washing of the clothes on the streets. The jostling crowds and the rubbing of shoulders. The bustling activity around the kiosks. The dirges sung by drunkards as they stagger their way home. The freedom of the children running around.
When you are in those wretched hovels of Nairobi’s slums you dream of being in the skyscrapers of America – or in the castles of Europe. But when you are here, suddenly you feel lonely. Strange!
It is not that the people here are unkind. In fact they are very polite. Very well trained in social etiquette. Simply, you are a stranger. You are not […]
Development
Letter from London 5: India’s poverty and riches
India’s poverty and riches – A look from outside by an insider.
These days, one of the questions that is becoming increasingly difficult for me to answer is, “Where do you come from?” When people ask me “Where do you come from?” I keep wondering if I should be saying …
I come from London, where I am living since last September (2008)?
Or do I come from East Africa, where I have lived 16 years since 1992 – six in Kenya and 10 in Tanzania?
Or should I be saying, I come from India, where I was born, and spent the first 25 years of my life?
As a Roman Catholic missionary, having lived with Africans in Africa, and with Europeans in Europe, I know I am slowly losing my Indian-ness: I find difficult to eat spicy food; to me, Indian movies seem too long and sentimental, and watching them a waste of time; […]